Applicants 2016

Twelve nominees were selected out of the applications. Other applicants can be found at the bottom of this page.

Nominees

Out of all formal applicants, 12 initiatives are nominated to win de Prize and/or one of the Excellence Awards. The 12 initiatives are listed below. The other applicants are listed at the bottom of the page.

1. The Dutch living donor kidney exchange

Kidney transplantation is the best treatment option for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In most Western countries however, patients face waiting times up to five years before a deceased donor kidney is offered. Kidney donation by a living donor is not always possible due to blood group incompatibility or/and the presence of antibodies against donor tissue in the recipient. A Living Donor Kidney Exchange Program can offer a solution for these unfortunate donor-recipient pairs. In an exchange program the donor of an ESRD patient A donates a kidney to patient B, while the donor of patient B simultaneously donates a kidney to patient A. Read more…

In the Netherlands, about 10.000 patients a year have cardiac symptoms like angina or dyspnea due to dysfunction of the smallest blood vessels of the heart, so called microvascular coronary dysfunction (MCD). Unfortunately , this ischemic heart condition is often missed because the standard cardiology tests such as a coronary angiogram cannot visualize the smallest vessels of the heart. In November 2015, we started a specialized outpatient clinic for patients with suspected MCD, based on the Value-Based Health Care principle. Our aim is to provide better healthcare at lower cost by applying accurate diagnostic tests and proper treatment strategies. Read more…

3. ClaudicatioNet

Claudicatio intermittens (IC) is een manifestatie van perifeer arterieel vaatlijden (PAD). ClaudicatioNet was founded in 2010. It is a so-called open network, which means that membership is attainable for every physical therapist (PT) who fulfills a set of participation criteria. ClaudicatioNet delivers patient value through optimizing treatment outcomes by ensuring that PTs are well trained and thus ‘specialized’ in SET and cardiovascular risk factor modification. Beyond IC, ClaudicatioNet aims at upscaling of its established framework to include other chronic diseases where similar rehabilitation principles apply. Examples of such disease are coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure (cardiac rehabilitation), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (pulmonary rehabilitation). Read more…

4. Elderly with End Stage Renal Disease: to dialyse or not?

Older patients approaching end-stage renal disease (ESRD) face the decision to choose for renal replacement therapy (RRT) or conservative management (CM). To improve our practice we collected data on survival of older renal patients choosing either CM or RRT. We further analysed Quality of Life, patient satisfaction and healthcare expenditures before and after start of dialysis treatment.We show a project in ESRD in older patients. The projects stands out by the true shared decision making on the choice for RRT or CM. In selected patients, we show that similar results, both in terms of survival and QoL, can be achieved by a CM which is associated with much lower treatment burden for patients and much lower costs for society. With similar outcome at less costs we create value for patients and society by carefully engaging in a shared decision process on future treatment. By collecting outcome data we are able to further improve the decision making process, for patients in our own center and elsewhere. Read more…

5. Empowering People. High impact mental treatment

U-center is a mental health care center that provides specialized evidence based treatment for depression, burnout, anxiety, trauma and addiction, and especially for comorbid disorders on all DSM-IV axes. Our goal is to foster an effective, fast and lasting recovery. The short intensive treatment, 4-7 weeks inpatient combined with 7 weeks outpatient, is aimed at lasting improvements with regards to our patient’s experience, our health services and budgetary restraints. U-center supports and develops a variety of improvement programs and shares evidence to encourage a company-wide change. U-center wants to have a health care system of the highest possible quality; effective, person-centered, timely and efficient. Read more…

In the Netherlands, about 1.4 million patients undergo anesthesia and surgery on a yearly base. Although mortality rates associated with anesthesia and surgery are relatively low in the Netherlands, a substantial amount of patients face complications and delayed recovery in the postoperative phase. The TRACE intervention comprises of a standardized anesthesia visit on day 1 and 3 following surgery by an anesthesia healthcare professional. We hypothesize that this improvement of postoperative care reduces 30-day mortality by decreasing failure to rescue rates. The study aims to enhance patient value over the full cycle of care. Read more…

7. Towards a regional approach of osteoarthritis: Clear and consistent information on osteoarthritis treatment, in primary and secondary care

We concluded that there is potential to improve the osteoarthritis (OA) care pathway to realize more efficient and fitting care. During the project ‘Clear and consistent information on OA treatment, in primary and secondary care’ we developed and implemented community-based educational courses for patients in early stages of OA. Goal is to encourage patients to follow conservative treatments and not to opt for a joint replacement if not yet necessary. This should lead to more fitting treatment, a reduction in the number of referrals to secondary care and a reduction in the number of joint replacements. Read more…

8. Friends for Kidneys

Despite abundant evidence that pre-emptive renal transplantation offers the best treatment for patients with end stage renal disease, many patients start with dialysis. They find it difficult to talk to relatives and friends about their illness and treatment options. In 2008 the Maasstad Hospital social workers started to offer timely education to family and friends from chronic kidney disease patients. This informative gathering often enables an intimate discussion about the current and future health status of the patient and different treatment options. Early group-education of families and friends of patients with CKD leads to a better informed and understanding family, and to an improved family bonding. Relatives often consider living kidney donation and which makes pre-emptive transplantation a realistic treatment modality. Read more…

9. Medical Experience Colonoscopy

With the ‘Colonoscopy Medical Experience (MEX)’ patients are informed in a visual and
step-wise way regarding their intestines investigation. By smart integration in the clinical process, significant cost reduction is realised through substitution and task adjustments, in the Medical Centre Alkmaar and Jeroen Bosch Hospital. The macro-economical benefits of minimising hospital visits, makes the indirect societal profit even much bigger. Randomised research has proven that this type of counselling is patient friendly, safe and stress reducing. Making digital counselling a standard part of the hospitals’ colonoscopy counseling process resulted in increased patients’ understanding and decreased counselling time with 75%. A win-win for both, the patient and the hospital! Read more…

10. Frail elderly patients with delirium

To improve outcome of care from the older patients’ perspective, which we state as return to pre-admittance autonomy, we believe a decrease of the incidence and severity of delirium is mandatory. We use rooming-in as the most important non-pharmacological intervention to reach that goal. Rooming-in is the co-admittance of relatives or other close informal caregivers, in order to improve orientation and understanding of what is happening during admittance in our hospital. Read more…

11. Complexe wondzorg in de keten

BBeterzorg and CZ have initiated a program for complex wound care in 2016, in which collaborations between home care organizations cooperate with GP’s, wound Care specialists and hospitals in order to improve complex wound care in the Netherlands. The aim of this program is to reduce the healing time of complex wounds, and, in doing so, improve quality of life for the patients and reduce the cost of complex wound care. The combination of expert knowledge, cooperation between health care professionals, monitoring and stepped care is being implemented in several regions in 2016 in the south of the country. Read more…

12. Value-based purchasing contracts

In healthcare, transition from volume to value is challenging but widespread. Considering the importance of value based healthcare and the ambition of hospitals and health insurers to offer excellent quality of care, there is a high need for innovative forms of value based contracts. In the Netherlands, the DOT-system of product classification is used in healthcare. The registered and delivered care is paid, which actually means that volume is rewarded instead of quality or efficiency. Considering the importance of value based healthcare and the ambition of hospitals and health insurers to create the highest patient value, we were seeking a form of value based contracts. The Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) and the healthcare insurance company CZ developed the first model for value based healthcare purchasing based solely on patient relevant outcomes. Read more…

Other applicants

13. Workload Intens-o-meteR

As of the 1st of January 2015, the Atrium Medical Center Parkstad (Atrium MC) together with Orbis medical Center (OMC) in Sittard formed a new merger hospital called the Zuyderland Medical Center. In January of 2012, the hospital management board of the AMC announced a comprehensive reallocation of resources as a measure to reduce its operational costs. Since there was no proportional reduction in the amount of patients being admitted, the cutbacks resulted in a high level of resentment and a perceived increase in the intensity of work among the nursing staff (workload). Staff morale also fell in the wards, resulting in the urgent need for an intervention to address the problem. In this report, we describe how we responded to this need by developing and implementing an intervention (i.e. workload intens-o-meter) that could measure the intensity of nurses’ workload and also predict the adequacy of nurse staffing in a clinical ward. Read more…

14. MediMapp

MediMapp is the one app you need to help take control of your cancer concerns. Delivered wirelessly to your mobile device, the output of MediMapp consists of clear, expert information that provides straightforward answers to stressful questions. All these questions and queries can be accessed via a mobile device to minimize stress and guarantee peace of mind, so that the patient can focus on recovery process. With MediMapp, you know what to expect, what it means, how to handle it. Read more…

15. PAVLOPRA

Rheumatoid arthritis is an incapacitating musculoskeletal disease with high costs both for the patients as for society.Through defining health outcomes using patient reported outcomes (PRO’s) and by defining costs of care according to the system of Value based health care (VBHC) for the first time in rheumatoid arthritis a high burden, high cost disease.In this initiative we defined the care cycle as it is done in real life practice for the established RA patient in order to define the cost. The costs are defined by the method of activity based costing. This is a first step in defining patient value. Heath outcome however is as of yet not defined for RA patients and must be determined. Next to quality definition on the national stage we initiated a patient oriented initiative to define health outcome for the RA patients and will collect these outcomes according to the seven tiers as defined by M. Porter. The health outcome will be collected in an automated fashion using a data collection system called gemstracker. In 2016 year we will measure the “real life” carecycle in order to quantify future improvements of the carecycle. Read more…

16. Welbevindenmeter

Kidney patients find it very hard to put in words how they experience the different stages of their disease.The measuring instrument is named the welbevindenmeter, and is an instrument to measure the wellbeing or quality of life for kidney patients. During a home-visit from the social worker of the nephrology department will bring the questions asked in the welbevindenmeter. It is not a form that has to be filled out by the patient, the questions are asked in a conversation with the social worker. With the welbevindenmeter patients get more control on their medical situation and wellbeing. It provides information to the patient and to practitioners about the condition of the patient. It’s is a possible starting point for a custom made treatment plan what enhances the quality of care for chronic kidney patients. Read more…

17. End of life Care: the home placement

An important niche for the ICU of the Westfriesgasthuis is the so called End of Life Care. It turned out that for terminal patients as well as the family of these very patients it is quite important to have the possibility to pass away in peace at home. It turned out that in regular wards of Westfriesgasthuis terminal patients are usually transferred home to pass away peacefully. This very program stems from the realization that patients and their family care means in principal that patients and/or their family have a controlled role, as active as possible, in the very process of passing away, including where to die.The goal of the project therefore is to enhance on request of the patient and or their family a transfer of patients to pass way at home. Read more…

18. CareRate

CareRate helps healthcare organizations to deliver more patient centered care. CareRate is a real time mobile feedback and improvement application meant for healthcare organisations, which offers every division an easy and approachable way to collect patient experiences and research. Both divisions and staff can easily track down the appreciation and satisfaction of patients about the care they provided. CareRate is fully bottom up designed so healthcare teams, departments can very easily do their own research. This makes it possible to constantly start and check new improvement cycles. CareRate can be fully integrated with LEAN, so patient experiences is added as a layer on top of LEAN. Making LEAN more outside in. Read more…

Previous applicants

Would you like an impression of the diversity in projects of the applicants of previous years?